Incarnate
by Call Me Tom
Summary: A/U story, told in drabble format. Ed-centric, Divine! Ed. The things that happen on the Promised Day have been foretold for generations. There can be no going back to how it was before- the Truth and its playthings have made sure of that...
1. Chapter 1

_**Incarnate**_

* * *

The pain was excruciating. It was the second time that he had been pulled through the gate today, but this time was different to the previous three. It was like it was opening from inside of him, the scars of his taboo tearing open to create an oval portal. But there was something else; another pain.

His shoulders were on fire, tearing, burning, and destroying themselves over and over again. His brain was ripping itself apart, truth pouring in and out, as if he were a conduct. But this was a warm feeling- simultaneously like a calming bath and a boiling pool of oil. The screams sung to him, an addictive and soothing symphony to his scarred and battered soul. It felt natural, right.

It was changing him, deep inside, his outlook, his memories, his thought process, his logic… But Ed couldn't [wouldn't] stop it, instead choosing to cling to it and ride it to its source.

If anyone had been able to look past their own pain at this moment, if they had been able to ignore the feeling of having every fibre of their being un-made; they would have seen a glow around Ed, a soft light as golden as the sun, looking for all of Amestris as if it were an embryo wrapped around him.

And then, Ed was gone, caught within the tide.

* * *

_**A.N. :**_ This is my next major project, a series of alternate FMA:B drabbles. This is just the prologue, so it is very short. I will have the next chapter of drabbles up at the weekend, and should have written the next very soon. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you very soon.

_**Blanket Disclaimer: **_**I do not own any characters/places mentioned. They belong to the franchise[s] respective owner[s]. The plot of this fan work and original characters are my intellectual property. I make no profit out of this.**

_~ Call Me Tom, 9.06.2012 _[Edited 14.06.2012]


	2. Chapter 2

****_Incarnate_

* * *

**Returning**

"_Back again, Elric? You are such _fun_! Always a glutton for punishment, you are. And you _never_ really learn you lesson."_ The Truth sighed, seemingly resigned. And was that- disappointment?_  
"What have you done now that needs fixing? What will you lose this time?_"

The Truth pulsed all around him, with no definitive form at this point, the ghosts of arms twirling around him, moving his hair, pulling him forward. Ed licked his lips shakily, recovering from another burst of pain. "I want- I need- I need to know what this thing is!" He made an angry gesture at the wave of pain that he had followed to its source. It appeared golden, a bloodlike liquid, but one that was not physical. "And why am I burning? Why the fuck do I feel so great? Why am I in even more pain but you haven't taken anything from me? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING TO ME?"

The Truth laughed. It echoed in the white, sounding harsh, unreal, but it had an echo of song behind it. "_Oh, Ed. Well, this is a turn up. I think you're ready to remember. Your penance is over. Rise and be reborn, my dearest creation_..."

Ed's eyes widened, suddenly recognising voice of the Truth from the song from the pain, the endless pain, the one that surrounded him, like water had surrounded him when he was small and learning to swim. **His **pain. The words took longer to sink in and he opened his mouth to protest, but what was released was simply a scream as both the black hands of truth and the gold chord of pain simultaneously pulled him through the Gate.

* * *

**Remembrance**

Ed was floating in the endless void of Truth- _rise and be reborn, my dearest creation_.  
He saw memories from a life he ever lived - _golden wings, golden eyes, golden hair, shining like the Sun, the light bringer, the _life_ bringer_.  
He remembered doing things, things he simply couldn't have done- _he was the favoured one who gave the people the gift of fire, the gift of weaponry and the gift of alchemy  
_He felt things that he couldn't felt- love for a family he never had-_ Death, Night, Day, Fate, Chaos, Dream, Nightmare, War, Pestilence, Famine, and a hundred others; his sisters and his brothers  
_He remembered a fall, his punishment, being lost and alone-_Icarus made wings of wax, but he flew too close to the sun and they melted, Lucifer Morningstar was the most beautiful of all the angels, but he was to prideful and jealous and fell, he loved humans and tried to help them but stopped the events that _must _happen, he forgot himself and his place_; _so the Truth tore off his wings and put him into, the Dark- a void with no life nor consciousness, not for a thousand years  
_He could remember the conditions for his redemption, his birth-_"You will be incarnated as a human, Life, as the son of the philosophers stone that the fall of Xerxes made- do you remember Xerxes? Ah, yes, you were away for quite a long time. Death had a field day. No arguments. You _will_ fulfil your role, and I promise you will be redeemed after your fall. But we will have to get rid of all your memories of being yourself first, so that you can blend in with the mortals... Your colouring can be explained by his Xerxesian blood, but the wings? ..."_ He could remember the Truth's soft voice flicking over the words, and unbidden harshness in them, the weight, and then the amusement at his strong worded arguments in the ancient tongue. Then he remembered the pain at having his wings ripped off for the second time, and then came, thick and fast, his life as a mortal, much shorter, before being sucked away in the tide of pain again.

* * *

**Reborn**

Ed blinked, and did his best to stand up, turning shakily to see the Father of the Homunculi sitting on his throne proudly, with a sense of accomplishment. He thought he had gained the powers of God, or Truth, or the Universe, for his own, for always. Ed knew better- he was Life and Life had been created by Truth as a helper, and a creator in his own right, and there was no way that this, this _usurper_ could contain the Truth for long. This thought struck Ed (or was it Icarus or Lucifer or Prometheus- no, it was Life, **no**, it was **Ed**. Ed-life? Life-Ed?), as particularly funny. So he laughed.

Greedling, Izumi, Hohenheim and Al looked at him as if he were crazy- he was still managed to be quite impressed with Al's look as Al remained in the armour. Mei Chang was staring at Al in a moon-struck way instead. Father did not seem to be bothered and Pride was rolling his eyes. Mustang was lying there on the floor, being useless. Mustang, the bastard, was of no use to any of them in his present state of blindness. So Ed (Life-Ed) decided to fix it. With a snap of his wrist, the gold soul-blood that ached with power swirled towards Mustang. He simply directed it to reverse the taboo, a menial task at this point (not even an hour old, no clap alchemy had been used, the transmutation circle wasn't made by Mustang anyway- no intent had been there), and there it was done. Colonel Mustang was able to see again, and the ache of the gold-blood-soul stuff [_ichor_, his mind prompted] lessened significantly.

"What? I-I can see? What happened? Who did it?" The arse was touching his face with reverence, staring at his hands; the others were looking at Mustang in confusion- even the Idiot Usurper That Was Destroying Himself. Ed ignored it, being preoccupied with fitting his new old memories to his new old powers, his new old body and the not at all that different, but definitely not the same Ed and Life.

Ed was part of Life, another name and face to all the others that people have given him, but was somehow _more_.  
Edward Elric was his first incarnation into a human body.  
He was fully human, and now fully divine as one.  
He was Life, and he was Ed, and it was _golden_.

Without him realising it, the soft glow from earlier had reappeared around him.

* * *

_A.N. _: Three chronological drabbles for you there. I should have written the next few for next weekend, and some more for the week after that. There after I will add to this verse sparingly and maybe attempt a multi-chapter piece. Unfortunately, I have my GCSEs to do, so this is a secondary project for me to do whilst I procrastinate revision. I hope you enjoyed it, and I thank my two reviewers, Rinako and Fluehatraya, and offer internet cookies to them.

_Thanks for reading  
~ Call Me Tom [14.06.2012]_ [Edited: 16.06.2012]


	3. Chapter 3

****_Incarnate_

* * *

**New Light**

There was silence. Father had stopped to stare at the sight of Ed, with golden light, with Pride mimicking his Father. Mei, Izumi and Al were still staring at Ed, stunned; whilst Roy was open-mouthed, looking for all the world like a guppy, as he looked at the boy who appeared to have restored his sight without even needing words. Greed sort of twitched in the corner, muttering to himself-maybe talking to Ling about something. Hohenheim moved unseen, closer to Father, before activating his master plan. Immediately Father started convulsing and choking, the souls of Amestrians exploding out of him in a tornado of red.

Ed snapped out of it, the light vanishing immediately. "How'd you do that, Hohenheim? All of his new souls are gone, now, I felt it, all back to their correct bodies- he won't be-ha!" Hohenheim looked at his son, slightly worried now it seemed his moment of lucidity was over; as well as the revelation that Ed had been able to _feel_ the souls return. He was about to explain to them how he had released the souls from his philosopher's stones, but a flung hand out from Ed stopped him short. The blond looked up with teary eyes, as if he'd heard a brilliant joke. "Oh, that _bastard_ is so **stupid**! He won't be able to hold the power of God without it destroying him- look!"

Sure enough the veins on Fathers face and arms were bulging, as if something was trying to escape from him. He looked in pain, but the others could not bring themselves to feel any part sorry for him. Then Father raised his eyes, burning with anger. He yelled a battle cry, and released the power of God that he held within himself in its most destructive form with the intention of smiting the bugs that dared defy him.

Instead of obliterating them, it hit a pair of golden wings. They were huge, at least twelve foot across, made of fine, silky feathers. The feathers looked like they were from a bird of prey- perhaps a falcon, or a hawk. The gold was the same as the glow that had been around Ed earlier, a metaphysical light that should be impossible to create. Ed's eyes were narrow, his back to the action, focused on protecting his family. "Come on, Scar", he yelled, not caring the man in question couldn't hear him. "These guys need there alchemy back- Mei's the only useful one here now!"

He flapped the wings once, as a larger push of power came close to making his shield fall, waiting for the moment-**now**.

* * *

**Best Defence**

"Alchemy's back!" grunted Ed, as he made the wings vanish, before dropping to the floor with a clap and forming a canon out of the ground. Izumi followed, creating a huge crossbow. Al made spikes, trying to get both Pride and Father from afar. But Father still had the power of God, as well as the fearsome powers he had had even prior to this. The red forks of alchemical lightning destroyed all weapons that came for him, before retaliating, trying to kill those that stood against him. Hohenheim fought back with his own philosopher's stone, shielding Ed from the destruction, quite needlessly as the previous demonstration had showed. '_So the bastard _does_ have parenting instincts after all,_' thought a surprised Ed, before obeying the order to carry on attacking the homunculus.

He focused on the _ichor_ again, wondering if it would work for him again. The wings had been a reflex action, granting Mustang his eyes was done whilst in shock -and what good that had done, the git could only fire flames, not create like everyone else, still _fucking_ **useless- **but now Ed needed to try and do something consciously, to make sure that the human body was adjusted to the power he now had. He saw Greed, leaping at Father, doing his best to claw the gold-haired creature's eyes out, forcing Father towards the pool of magma that Izumi had accidentally revealed. A plan came into his head then. '_It's so crazy, it might just work!'_ It didn't matter that in real-world time he had had these powers for not even twenty minutes. It was a fact of his biology, as easy as snapping one's fingers-a thing that you **couldn't** forget.

* * *

**Divided Connection**

As Greed slashed his ultimate shield-covered hands towards Father, he saw a light shooting towards him, and then- and then-  
_He was surrounded by red, once again inside his subconscious mind. Ling was in the lotus position he favoured, seemingly floating, a white contrast and an anchor inside the chaos. His face was flushed and troubled, and his hand was grasping his sword tightly.  
_"Greed!" _Ling said. He sounded a strange mix of worried and excited. _"What's going on? I'm getting snippets- I saw gold light, and wings, and **Ed**, and the circle-"  
"-Shut **up**, brat. **I** don't understand even half of what is going on, but it's fucking dangerous and I don't even know how we're talking without me being attacked by anyone." _If Greed could put a palm to his forehead, he would. The Xing brat was actually sounding _concerned_, damn him, even as he prattled on; but Greed _did **not **need this shit _right now. There was a battle going on, he could steal the power of God off of Father and he could finally _fill_ the fucking _hole_ inside him. He needed to fight, he needed his shield, he needed Ling to _"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up already! Fucking leave in your meditation or some shit, just **get out of **_**my**_ **head** so I can get out of this moment!"_  
Ling looked momentarily stunned, but then there was a gold light, and a feeling of being _pulled_ out of a vacuum or something as well as something being pulled out of him- _'God, this is fucking surreal'- and then-

He was in the air, slashing towards Father, but there was something next to him doing the same thing. Instinctively, he looked, and stared. Ling, dressed in a yellow tunic and those weird bandages he was so fucking fond of, was slashing his sword at Father as well. Ling's strike was further below, but neither attack hit. They landed side by side, immediately standing back to back, looking for all the world like a pair of duelling partners. They were panting slightly, but all the same looked at each other from the corners of their eyes, simultaneously evaluating both the threat and each other.

"_Greed?"_  
"**Ling?**_"_  
"_Wait- are we talking in our heads or aloud?"  
"_Both I-hang on, _both, I think."  
"So, we're still connected, but separate?"  
"I guess. Just my luck, I'm fucking stuck with a __**brat**__ from __**Xing**__ for the rest of his life."  
"You love me really, Greed."_ Ling's mental voice seemed to smile, before his real voice was used for the first time in months. "Well, fuck. Father's still alive and on the move, even after the magma."  
"What? **Magma?**" _"How the fuck did I miss that?"_  
"Look!" _"Shut it, Greed. I'm thinking."_

Ed smiled briefly, before concentrating on the newly-escaped Father. "Mei, Izumi- you guys beat Pride, okay? He's weak, he'll be easy to defeat. Bastard and Bastard, you lucky people are with me, and _we're_ going to fight Father. Greed, Ling; do whatever the fuck you want as long as it's useful and our people don't die. Maybe find the chimeras? Any questions? Any objections? Good!" He ran at Hohenheim, grabbing him by the collar and doing the same to Mustang. He then focused on re-growing his wings, glad that it was no longer painful, before launching himself up with his quarry. "Hang on tight, we're headed for the sky!"

* * *

**A.N.:** That went OK, but I screwed up some of the action. I could've written it better, but it just didn't seem to work well with the style I'm writing this in. Sorry to all the die-hard action fans!

Also, I'm planning a multi-chapter AU FMA fan-fiction (yes, dear reader, that _is_ all I write) to start soon. The main plot is: Ed is raised in Xing, as part of the Yao clan. It'll be pre-Brotherhood/manga.

Thank you to _Fluehatraya _for reviewing this again! You're great!

_Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this one!  
~ Call Me Tom [19.6.12] _[Edited: 21.6.12]


	4. Chapter 4

******INCARNATE**

* * *

**The Watchers**

"He is awake, then." The voice had an accent attributed to the upper classes of society, an image maintained by the long blue gown the speaker was wearing. Blonde curls fell in curls down the woman's shoulders, and deep dark blue eyes looked into the distance.

"YES. CIRCUMSTANCES FORCED IT." Another stood next to the woman, face covered in a dark tattered hood. The speaker was undeniably male, with a voice deeper and melodious than most early voices. He wore navy, with black leather gloves and boots. Impossibly bright green eyes seemed to survey an invisible opera.

"So, you interfered?" The woman sounded shocked. Shadows darkened her face as sparks of what appeared to be anger reflected in her eyes.  
"NO. I PETITIONED TRUTH AND HE ALLOWED IT." As quickly as they had come, the shadows vanished.  
"Good. The only one who can interfere closely in this matter is Chaos and her allies. We can only make sure what **must** happen, happens."  
"I KNOW, FATE. WE BOTH KNEW THAT THIS WAS COMING, HAVE KNOWN SINCE THE FIRST BETRAYAL OF LIFE'S. THOUGH YOU DID BRING UP A GOOD POINT ABOUT CHAOS."  
"What about her, Death?"  
"WE MAY REQUIRE HER INTERFERENCE IN THIS MATTER. LIFE IS LIKELY TO NOT BE THINKING CLEARLY ABOUT WHAT HIS AWAKENING MEANS, OR WHAT IT IS DOING TO HIM."  
"Good reasoning." Fate let out a lengthy sigh. "I will fetch her. She and Life have been allies for a long time; she was most upset with his punishment. She is likely to have been waiting for an opportune moment to interfere with Life for years…"

The blonde woman turned, vanishing in a swirl of grey smoke. The other figure repeated the movement, mirth dancing in his eyes. "HOME SOON, BROTHER MINE. YOU ARE RETURNING AS I SPEAK." Then he was gone, into the shadows, like an elegant thief down a dark alley.

* * *

**A.N.: **A little bonus drabble, to celebrate the fact that my GCSEs are over for this year! :D  
[Of course, I still have coursework to do that's worth 40 marks, but whatever.]

Yay, you're meeting the other half of Ed's extended family! Liking them so far? If you have any criticism about my O.C.s or the story in general, please review! Actually, please review anyway!

_Thank you for reading!_

_~ Call Me Tom [22.6.12.]_ [Edited 23.6.12]


	5. Chapter 5

_Incarnate_

* * *

**Banter**

"I. Am. Going. To. Kill. Him," grunted the battle-hardened housewife, Mrs Izumi Curtis; whilst she hastily created a wall to block Pride's shadows. "Honestly, we are in the middle of the battle to end all battles, and he shows off fancy new tricks that _none of us_ knew he was capable of, barks out orders, and **flies** off!" A red-eyed spike of solid grazed her cheek. "I wasn't even supposed to be _helping_!"

Al clapped, making a maze of spikes to mirror the attacks that Pride had sent out, managing to create more holes in the deceptively childish body. "That's Brother. Always has _something_ up his sleeve, even if it's suicidal and crazy." He flipped over an incoming attack, glad that he could not tire with his amour. Even if it was uncomfortable and he couldn't use most of his senses, it really came in useful in most of the fights he was involved in.

Pride was falling apart, a red vortex of souls wrapped with black shadows, but he was still fighting. Ordinarily, such determination would be considered impressive, but the homunculus was simply too arrogant to back down and admit he was wrong and weak. He was trying to distract them, to taunt them with a verbal exchange of words. Needless to say, it wasn't working.

A crossbow bold made of rock shot through the space where Pride's heart should be. The little artificial human was no more. Izumi dusted her hands on her shirt. "He was so small; it was almost like fighting Ed." She snorted. "But that Pride character was no-where near as skilled, nor as devious. He was just another arrogant brat."  
"A bit like Brother then?" smirked Al, looking up at the hole in the ceiling.  
Izumi winked at her other adoptive son, her mood dancing from dangerous and murderous to happy and joking in a matter of seconds. "Yes, Al. Just like Edward. Shall we?"

Al nodded, clapping his hands to make a tower to lift himself to the next level. Ling, Greed and Mei appeared to have climbed up there themselves during the fight, but time was of the essence now, and not something that Teacher and Ex-Student could afford to waste.

* * *

**Soldiers**

"You cannot go and fight up there, Ma'am! You are seriously injured! Your ch'i is not flowing properly around your body, you are severely weakened!" insisted Mei Chang firmly, glaring at the blonde known as Hawkeye.  
"The Colonel needs me!" shot back Hawkeye, still in Darius' arms.  
"Like hell he does, Lady", snorted Greed, interrupting the two women. He was leaning against the wall, giving the illusion of being perfectly relaxed. "He has Ed and Hohenheim, and I'm pretty fucking sure that right now, nothing could stop them."  
"MAJOR EDWARD ELRIC? What is that _weakling __**alchemist**_ doing here?" inquired the other blonde woman. She was tall and muscular; her face beautiful, but her eyes cold. "_Fuck. That's a woman _I _want on my side, for always. She's fucking _terrifying."  
Ling agreed swiftly, from his vantage point at the other side of the room, behind a convenient post. "_She called _Ed_ a weakling, and he's the strongest alchemist I've ever met, especially for his age!"_

"Edward is here for the fight, my dear Olivier. He obviously couldn't miss it, a chance to help Amestris and his friends and family! Oh, the self-sacrificing lad- he would do anything for the people he considers to be his friends!" boomed Armstrong, already preparing to strip and cry. Many of those around him averted their eyes, resigned to yet another viewing of the muscles that had been passed down the Armstrong family line for GENERATIONS!

Sensing it was the right time, Ling stepped forwards, forcing out his so-called 'prince-ly' persona. "Alright then, it's decided. The chimeras are coming with us, as are all the uninjured soldiers. Mei will heal the rest of you as best she can, and you can join the fight after that," said Ling, his tone firm. His voice left no room for argument, most of the soldiers had seen what he and Greed had done to the front gate.  
"_Taking lessons from the Pipsqueak, are you, Prince? Talking so fast no-one can disagree? And to think-"  
"-_Shut _the fuck_ up, _Greed."_

Greed laughed at seemingly nothing; which surprised most of the crowd gathered around. Mei Chang, ever the prim and proper princess, looked at them disdainfully and continued to bandage Hawkeye. Greed and Ling glanced at each other and then clapped their hands in unison. "Alright then, soldiers. Let's go off merrily into our doom! Armstrong family strong-arm alchemy guy? Can you give us a lift?"  
Armstrong nodded, his eyes glinting heavily with unvoiced emotion, before activating an array on his gauntlets. The floor exploded, lifting their large column up onto the next floor.

But no matter how prepared the soldiers had thought they were, what they saw was nothing that they had ever trained for.

* * *

A.N. : Yes, I do realise the suspicious lack of Ed. However, I wish to keep with my regular updating schedule (and GODS does that phrase seem weird), and admit that the next few action scenes wouldn't flow as well. I _am_ sorry that there has been no Ed in these last three drabbles, but he has been mentioned quite frequently. The next few drabbles should focus on him more! I also realise this is shorter than most of my other chapters, and I can only apologise, because I didn't want to put in a third this time around.

On the plus side: this is actually the tenth drabble of this fan-fiction! I'm actually really proud of myself, since before I have only written three drabbles in a series before I gave up. And it's thanks to all of you readers! Extra-special thanks to Joker Oak, GhostMajor, LadysWords and Fluehatraya (who is awesome because they have reviewed every chapter so far!) Please, continue to review. I am unsure of how true my characterisation is and as I can't find a player that will work on my computer, my grasp is slipping.

_Thank you all for reading and reviewing, and I am so grateful you enjoy my writing!  
~ Call Me Tom [26.6.12] _[Edited: 29.6.12]


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